World Record Holder Jepkosgei Returns to Gifu Seiryu Half

Women's world record holder and defending champion Joyciline Jepkosgei (Kenya) and last year's top man Alexander Mutiso (Kenya/ND Software) return to lead the elite fields for the April 22 Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon. The women's field is small but high-quality at the front end, with Eunice Chumba (Bahrain) and Valary Jemeli (Kenya) joining Jepkosgei under the 68-minute mark and additional support coming from sub-70 runners Joy Kemuma (Kenya) and Karolina Nadolska (Poland). The top Japanese woman in last summer's London World Championships marathon, Mao Kiyota (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) again leads the way as the fastest Japanese woman at 1:10:31.

Most of Gifu's budget clearly went to the women's race, as the men's field is made up almost entirely of Japan-based athletes. Not that it's short of quality. With a 1:00:31 mark Mutiso is only the 5th-fastest athlete in a field led by sub-60 men James Mwangi (Kenya/NTN), James Rungaru (Kenya/Chuo Hatsujo) and Moses Kurong (Uganda). Yohei Suzuki (Aisan Kogyo) leads the Japanese entry list with a 1:01:53 best in Marugame this year, with Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) set to make his annual appearance in Gifu just 6 days after running the Boston Marathon.

8th Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon Elite Field Highlights

Gifu, 4/22/18
times listed are best in last three years except where noted
click here for complete field listing

Women
Joyciline Jepkosgei (Kenya) - 1:04:51 (Valencia 2017)
Eunice Chumba (Bahrain) - 1:06:11 (Copenhagen 2017)
Valary Jemeli (Kenya) - 1:07:50 (Prague 2017)
Joy Kemuma (Kenya) - 1:09:02 (Venlo 2018)
Karolina Nadolska (Poland) - 1:09:54 (Posnan 2017)
Ftaw Zeray (Ethiopia) - 1:10:31 (Marugame 2018)
Mao Kiyota (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:10:31 (Valencia 2015)
Sayo Nomura (Japan/Uniqlo) - 1:11:22 (Sanyo 2015)
Sinead Diver (Australia) - 1:11:40 (Valencia 2018)
Yuko Aoki (Japan/Canon AC Kyushu) - 1:12:14 (Sanyo 2017)
Yuko Watanabe (Japan/Edion) - 1:13:08 (Sanyo 2015)
Yuko Mizuguchi (Japan/Denso) - 1:13:13 (Sendai 2017)
Marie Imada (Japan/Iwatani Sangyo) - 1:13:54 (Marugame 2018)
Andrea Seccafien (Canada) - debut - 33:34.45 (10000 m, Melbourne 2017)
Sayaka Takarada (Japan/Aichi Denki) - 15:54.62 (5000 m, Nagasaki 2015)

Men
James Mwangi (Kenya/NTN) - 59:07 (Copenhagen 2016)
James Rungaru (Kenya/Chuo Hatsujo) - 59:37 (Den Haag 2018)
Moses Kurong (Uganda) - 59:50 (Copenhagen 2017)
Nicholas Kosimbei (Kenya/Toyota) - 1:00:21 (Lisbon 2018)
Alexander Mutiso (Kenya/ND Software) - 1:00:31 (Lisbon 2018)
Edward Waweru (Kenya/NTN) - 1:00:31 (Marugame 2018)
Macharia Ndirangu (Kenya/Aichi Seiko) - 1:00:57 (Gifu Seiryu 2017)
Joel Mwaura (Kenya/Kurosaki Harima) - 1:00:59 (Marugame 2017)
Patrick Muendo Mwaka (Kenya/Aisan Kogyo) - 1:01:51 (Gifu Seiryu 2016)
Yohei Suzuki (Japan/Aisan Kogyo) - 1:01:53 (Marugame 2018)
Daniel Muiva Kitonyi (Kenya/Kanebo) - 1:02:05 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2017)
Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/NTN) - 1:02:08 (Marugame 2016)
Michael Githae (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:02:27 (Gifu Seiryu 2015)
Takuya Fukatsu (Japan/Asahi Kasei) - 1:02:29 (Osaka 2018)
Shun Sakuraoka (Japan/NTN) - 1:02:44 (Ageo 2016)
Desmond Mokgobu (South Africa) - 1:02:48 (Port Elizabeth 2015)
Suehiro Ishikawa (Japan/Honda) - 1:02:49 (Marugame 2016)
Shintaro Miwa (Japan/NTN) - 1:02:59 (Marugame 2018)
Hayato Sonoda (Japan/Kurosaki Harima) - 1:03:00 (Marugame 2016)
Yuki Kawauchi (Japan/Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 1:03:11 (Ageo 2015)
Yuichi Okutani (Japan/Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:03:21 (Osaka 2017)
Yuya Ito (Japan/Toyota) - 1:03:22 (Hakodate 2015)
Yasuyuki Nakamura (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:03:32 (Ageo 2017)
Dishon Karukuwa Maina (Kenya) - 1:03:35 (Gifu Seiryu 2016)
Kenta Matsumoto (Japan/Toyota) - 1:03:38 (Gifu Seiryu 2015)
Yuichiro Ogawa (Japan/NTN) - 1:03:44 (Marugame 2016)
Taiga Ito (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:03:52 (Gifu Seiryu 2015)
Shota Hattori (Japan/Honda) - 1:05:13 (Sendai 2016)
Ezekiel Jafary (Tanzania) - 1:06:19 (Moshi 2015)

© 2018 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Morii Surprises With Second-Ever Japanese Sub-2:10 at Boston

With three sub-2:09 Japanese men in the race and good weather conditions by Boston standards the chances were decent that somebody was going to follow 1981 winner Toshihiko Seko 's 2:09:26 and score a sub-2:10 at the Boston Marathon . But nobody thought it was going to be by a 2:14 amateur. Paris Olympic team member Suguru Osako had taken 3rd in Boston in 2:10:28 in his debut seven years ago, and both he and 2:08 runners Kento Otsu and Ryoma Takeuchi were aiming for spots in the top 10, Otsu after having run a 1:01:43 half marathon PB in February and Takeuchi of a 2:08:40 marathon PB at Hofu last December. A high-level amateur with a 2:14:15 PB who scored a trip to Boston after winning a local race in Japan, Yuma Morii told JRN minutes before the start of the race, "I'm not thinking about time at all. I'm going to make top 10, whatever time it takes." Running Boston for the first time Morii took off with a 4:32 on the downhill opening mile, but after that Sis

Saturday at Kanaguri and Nittai

Two big meets happened Saturday, one in Kumamoto and the other in Yokohama. At Kumamoto's Kanaguri Memorial Meet , Benard Koech (Kyudenko) turned in the performance of the day with a 13:13.52 meet record to win the men's 5000 m A-heat by just 0.11 seconds over Emmanuel Kipchirchir (SGH). The top four were all under 13:20, with 10000 m national record holder Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) bouncing back from a DNF at last month's The TEN to take the top Japanese spot at 7th overall in 13:24.57. The B-heat was also decently quick, Shadrack Rono (Subaru) winning in 13:21.55 and Shoya Yonei (JR Higashi Nihon) running a 10-second PB to get under 13:30 for the first time in 13:29.29 for 6th. Paris Olympics marathoner Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) was 9th in 13:30.62. South Sudan's Abraham Guem (Ami AC) also set a meet record in the men's 1500 m A-heat in 3:38.94. 3000 mSC national record holder Ryuji Miura made his debut with the Subaru corporate team, running 3:39.78 for 2n

93-Year-Old Masters Track and Field WR Holder Hiroo Tanaka: "Everyone has Unexplored Intrinsic Abilities"

In the midst of a lot of talk about how to keep the aging population young, there are people with long lives who are showing extraordinary physical abilities. One of them is Hiroo Tanaka , 93, a multiple world champion in masters track and field. Tanaka began running when he was 60, before which he'd never competed in his adult life. "He's so fast he's world-class." "His running form is so beautiful. It's like he's flying." Tanaka trains at an indoor track in Aomori five days a week. Asked about him, that's the kind of thing the people there say. Tanaka holds multiple masters track and field world records, where age is divided into five-year groups. Last year at the World Masters Track and Field Championships in Poland he set a new world record of 38.79 for 200 m in the M90 class (men's 90-94 age group). People around the world were amazed at the time, which was almost unbelievable for a 92-year-old. After retiring from his job as an el

japan running news

Search This Blog